Where I’ve Been

You wanna hear a really obvious statement? Life gets really busy sometimes.

My life has been super busy lately, let me get you up to speed.

As of right now, I work two part-time jobs, one as an early morning custodian at BYU, (4am-8am baby! Sleep is for the weak!) and the other as a Deli Clerk at Day’s Market, a local grocery store. (SCHLICE SCHLICE) On top of that, I’m taking a couple of classes at BYU still. Only like 6 credit hours though so not totally insane, just partially. Also I’ve started writing pitches in an attempt to get a few freelance writing jobs, figured I should actually try and make money at this at some point right? With all that the few spare moments I have left over I try to make sure that I’m spending enough time with my wonderful and lovely girlfriend Lindsay.

This leaves just no time to do much of anything, let alone sit down and try to write blog posts that aren’t absolute trash. Now should be the time where I present some sort of remedy for this problem, but frankly, I don’t have much of a solution worked out. The best I’ve come up with so far is to get back on a regular sleeping schedule, but anyone who knows me knows that me and sleep have just never worked out. We’re like Ross and Rachel, one of is always pining for the other but it’s just not gonna work out. Maybe it will one day, I haven’t finished Friends yet so I really don’t know. I’m just trying to use the references now that I actually know them. (I wonder what the equivalent of “WE WERE ON A BREAK” would be in this analogy? it was only a nap? I don’t know, probably stretching it too far)

There is something I can promise for sure though. If and when I do manage to find some time that isn’t dedicated to something else I’ll be sitting in my chair, slapping away at my keyboard to try and write blogs. Just be aware that because of time restrictions I won’t have time to research anything so I’m just gonna have to write about what I already know really well. So lots of movie and League of Legends ramblings are coming your way! (YAY everyone loves league of legends!) Later!

Thanks

I had initially planned to take the week of thanksgiving totally off and not worry at all about writing blogs and stuff, but apparently I can’t stay away from this blog for that long now. Interesting.

I didn’t put together a proper Thanksgiving post back in October for Canadian thanksgiving, so I figured I’d take the time now to just mention some of the things I’m really grateful in my life. Some of these are going to be really silly, some more serious, and some will be in between. So basically it’ll be an ordinary list.

First and foremost I’m thankful to be alive, being dead sounds boring and as one Tyrion Lannister puts it, “Death is so terribly final, while life is full of possibilities.”

I’m grateful to Wendy’s and their 4 for 4 meals. You’re the best value in fast food and you keep my belly full and happy. Although if you weren’t around it would probably be a lot easier to eat healthy.

I’m also thankful for the gospel in my life. At times it’s tried me harder than I could ever care for, but it also brought such an immense amount of happiness and joy into I don’t know if I could ever truly put it all into words. Rest assured I’ll be trying to do so at some point though.

I’m grateful to all the movies, games, shows, books, songs, whatever media I’ve enjoyed in my life. The stories you held have become a life-long passion for me and you never get old.

I’m grateful to my family. Y’all are an exceptionally weird bunch, but you have shown me so much love and support over the years I just can’t help but be humbled by how much you all care.

I’m especially grateful in this respect to my parents, I’m also grateful to them for being people I can just have a conversation with, I definitely didn’t realize how nice it is to be able to just have a casual talk with your folks is.

I’m grateful to this dope hoody I’m wearing in the featured photo. Supporting content creators I like is real great when they make legitimately good merch for me to buy.

I’m grateful to Lindsay, the most wonderful person I know. You’re the most hilariously awkward person I’ve ever met, but you’re also strong, kind, compassionate, beautiful, fiercely intelligent, understanding, and fun. You’re exceptionally bad at taking compliments (her words not mine) so this is probably bit embarrassing for you, but I would be lying if I didn’t think embarrassing you just a little bit here and there wasn’t kind of fun. 

I’m grateful to Dr. Pepper for being a delicious beverage I can enjoy whenever I want. I guess that also goes along with being grateful to live in the US where Dr. Pepper is available 24/7, though I could without the perpetual chaos that is your politics. (What can you really go through Thanksgiving without some mention of politics?)

I’m grateful to BYU, the most bizarre campus I’ve ever set foot on, but the things that have happened to me whilst attending here have been pretty great and I’d like to at least think you had something to do with that, so kudos to you BYU.

I’m grateful to my roommates, some goofy dudes. Y’all are great to live with and keep things entertaining consistently. I look forward to at least one more great semester with you boys! I should also take the time to be grateful for my other friends. Vine has only been officially dead for a year and a half, but we still quote them every day to the dismay of so many people! Who cares though, they’re just not bougie enough to understand the brilliance of it all.

I’m grateful to be Canadian. I have an undying need to say sorry, an undying love for maple syrup on just about everything, an appreciation for the great games of Hockey and Curling, and a lovely habit of ending sentences with eh. These things and many other good traits wouldn’t be possible without being raised in the great white north. I miss that land. Can’t wait to see it again in about a month!

Ok I think thats enough for this year. This certainly doesn’t encompass everything I’m grateful for, but I can’t literally go through and name everything. Well I could, but I’d be sitting here for weeks trying to do that and that sounds even more boring than death, so hard pass on that. Later!

The Nature of Love

So there’s this song that I’ve been listening to a bunch for a little while now. It’s called The Nature of Love and it’s by Sinitus Tempo, (click the link to listen to it, I recommend you do while you read it because I’m super pretentious and think it might affect how you perceive what I’m saying) I have absolutely no idea how to define his music in terms of genre, but that probably has more to do with my lack of knowledge when it comes to music than him having a mind-bending sound that defies common conventions of what we would call a genre. So I’ll call it easy listening/chill instrumental? Yeah close enough, the point of this post isn’t really even to talk about the song itself. I definitely enjoy it and think it’s good music, but the fact that it’s just a good song to just chill out and think about stuff to and the title The Nature of Love is what’s got me really kind of spinning.

Like what do I even see as the nature of love? That’s kind of an enormous question, isn’t it? But questions like this that feel almost unanswerable are the ones that intrigue me the most because it allows for you to sort of just endlessly explore ideas without ever feeling the need to have a quantifiable answer. Which is pretty ironic to say now because I’m about to try to give a quantifiable answer to this question, but that’s neither here or there. I also feel like I should make a note that I’m firmly incapable of being an authority on this question. Don’t get me wrong I love my family and friends dearly and I’d do anything for them, but I’m not a parent and I’ve never been married, much less in love, and from what people have told me that sort of love is just on a whole other level. I can’t even begin to try and describe the love you feel for someone as you look into their eyes on your wedding day or the loved one feels when they hold their child for the first time and their entire universe melts away and is immediately reconstructed but with this tiny person at the center or it. I’ve never felt that before so I’m operating on limited information. That being said, not having enough information hasn’t ever stopped me before so I’m just gonna kind of go for it anyway.

 

AWWWWWWWWW

 

Love. Woo boy, this is a tough one. To me, love has always been about putting others before myself. I think that’s a pretty standard definition though like most people would say that putting someone else before yourself is a critical component of love, so I need some other things to really make sure this is MY opinion/take/perspective on what the nature of love is. I guess for me specifically love is like something that gets me out of the house.

Let me explain that a bit. I’m a deeply introverted person and also very independent if you give me the option to either hang out with some people or just chill at home and watch a movie I’ll pick stay at home like 90% of the time. It’s nothing against anyone else, I just like my me time… a lot, but when friends invite me out, and I mean like good friends not like the “we talked once at a thing and added each other on Facebook” kind of friends, when good friends invite me out, I pretty much drop whatever I was doing to go spend time with them, because I love them and I love being around them. I feel elevated as a person each time I hang out with them and conversations with good friends always make me feel enlightened as an individual.

Now I know that sounded like really overly sentimental and sappy, but that’s one of the problems I think we have right now, we only think of love as that thing the guy says to the girl in a Rom-com when he finally realizes she’s the one for him. All too often we see love as being only this thing that’s expressed in romantic relationships when that’s absolutely not the case. Take for example in my life, I have a number of old friends from my hometown of Magrath, the pizza Tuesday crew. (Y’all know who you are) I love those guys, but we all have like our own lives and I don’t talk to them all that much anymore. It’s not that I don’t care about them anymore, we’re just all adults and have like lives to lead. (Side note if any of you fella’s are reading this next time we’re in the same city let’s get some pizza eh?) Also, I feel like I might be excluding some absolutely top-notch people who didn’t happen to be part of the pizza Tuesday crew so just know that if we hung out a bunch in high school, I love you, appreciate you and hope your life is going really well.

Tangent there aside, do you see what I’m trying to get at? Love isn’t just about sacrificing your own wants/needs for others, it’s just like this feeling.

Gah, I’m a writer I should be able to come up with something better than “it’s like this feeling”. Love is about caring for people in a way that even if you don’t see them for years when you do see them it’s almost like no time has passed at all, you just start chatting and catching up like you see them every day. Love also isn’t always romantic either, take it from me, I don’t think I’ve ever been “in love”, but I love a lot of people. Love is about… ehhh… uhh…. hmm…

Oh, wait I think I found it, love isn’t about putting others ahead of yourself, love is about caring about a person so much you don’t even take your needs into consideration.

Nah wait, that’s not good. If people did that you’d have all of these really lopsided relationships with folks just destroying their whole lives to make someone else’s better. If the other person returns that love though would it kind of balance things out? Like if we’re all putting the needs of those we love ahead of our own and those we love do the same everyone still gets taken care of? Ehh… That sounds like really naive honestly. Like it makes a nice quote I suppose, but in reality, it’s just not really smart. Guess I don’t have it yet.

I don’t know, love is just one of those things where ya know when ya know right? We all know the people in our life that we love and maybe it couldn’t hurt to let those people know a little more often how we feel. Although just a quick pro-tip if anyone is thinking of telling their crush that they love them without any warning because of what I’m saying I’m not really recommending that, don’t go 0 to 100 ya know? That friend of yours that’s been listening to you pine after that person for ages without complaint though? Let that person know you love them. Lord knows they must love you if they put up with that kind of crap.

I think I’ve rambled enough about this, for now, If I make any breakthroughs on the topic I be sure to do this again though. Later.

Hugs

In one’s best Jerry Seinfeld voice: What’s the deal with hugging? It’s like people you hardly know come up to you and expect you wrap your arms around them like they’re family. It’s bizarre! I don’t want to hug you, I don’t even know if I want to talk to you!

Ok, the bit’s over. I seriously don’t get the obsession with hugging I see here at BYU every day. It’s honestly the de facto greeting for almost everyone here. And you know what? I hate it. Just on a personal level, honestly if you want to hug that guy you talked to once 7 months ago just to say hello that’s your life, but please oh please don’t put your arms out when you see me. Because when you do I’m forced to accept the hug, I can’t be the one guy that denies some poor soul a hug. I’m a bit cold at times, but I’m not a monster. What’s wrong with a firm handshake though? It’s not like Mormons don’t shake hands, it’s kind of a thing in the church.

Part of me is really curious about why hugging is so prominent at BYU, maybe it isn’t maybe everyone hugs each other and I’m just the really odd one out. I don’t deny the possibility, but I think it’s unlikely. I think everyone hugs people the knowledge and care about, but not just anyone they’ve ever had a conversation with. Off the top of my head, I think it’s got to be something like students at BYU are so starved for human contact because unless they’re married they aren’t having sex so they compensate by just showing affection to just about anyone. They aren’t any evidence or reasoning behind this really I just think that in the most cynical parts of my brain.

“Jeez dude, what’s your beef with hugs?” you might be saying to yourself right about now and look it’s not a beef with hugs, I’m just not that into physical contact of any kind. I’m just not really wired for it. Ask any of my friends, I’m not about that life. It’s nothing against anyone, I just really like my personal space and would prefer that only I inhabit that space. There’s a very short list of people I’m genuinely comfortable hugging, they include blood relatives and…. Uh… the pizza Tuesday crew? Y’all know who you are. I don’t know, it’s just a sorta weird part of my thinking where I see things like hugging as a show of intimacy and trust and I just don’t really like it. There isn’t any traumatic childhood experience (that I’m aware of, never know what’s buried I suppose.) that’s made me averse to it, I’m just not a hugger, and I’m surrounded every day by huggers and I needed to vent about it. Later.

Viking Funeral for Courtney Moser

It’s been a while but you all know the drill, when friends of mine get married I write them a eulogy for their single life. I mean I congratulate them on their accomplishment and wish them luck. Same thing imo.

This one feels a little more odd though, since I haven’t seen Courtney in almost a year now. Also part of me wants to take a Viking Funeral theme to this post, ie I flame Courtney as she’s sent out to sea never to be seen again. I thought it might be appropriate since a lot of mine and Courtney’s friendship has been based on poking fun at one another. Feels right to continue that tradition no? Then I thought about all of the negative consequences of making fun of a bride on her wedding day. Not wanting to have a couple of tall angry Russian gentlemen show up at my apartment with a baseball bat and brass knuckles I decided to continue singing the praises of my friends.

Courtney, you are a small person. This is a really good thing I believe, it hides that fact that you are terrifyingly intimidating, which is good for two reasons. First you are an elementary school teacher (that is still correct I think.) and terrifying young children is not a part of your job description. (Unless Alberta education has really taken a dive.) Secondly it gives you a wonderful surprise factor when dealing with morons that decide to cross you.

You are also a very smart person, not just academically either. (I assume you do well in school, haven’t got a good look at your transcripts though, just a shot in the dark.) You are a very capable of analyzing a situation you have been placed in (or someone else) figuring out what’s going on and finding smart solutions. I don’t mean to be rude to many of the lovely Americans I’ve met at BYU, but it’s a rarer trait than you might think. You’ve also applied these smarts to your humor which makes a pretty darn funny gal. However, you shouldn’t fall into the trap of overusing memes like how I smell ( I don’t btw.) and whether or not I own a copy of Space Jam or not. ( I own several copies now thanks to those jokes) You’re smart enough to keep coming up with fresh material, please do.

AND FINALLY

Courtney, you are real comfortable with who you are, and I respect that an awful lot. You never cared when I criticized your taste in movies over and over, and you never seemed to be bothered when pretty much everyone thought you needed to get out more. You were happy doing exactly what you were doing and didn’t see a reason to stop doing those things. This is for most people I believe this is one of the hardest lessons in life and you had it down pretty much the day after you left home. Kudos.

Anywho, real sorry I couldn’t actually be there for your wedding day, I’m sure you look beautiful and it’s the happiest day of your life. As it should be. Good luck in the shadow realm… I mean Marriage!

Definitely not Rip on Katie Broadhead

As you might know, when close friends of mine get married, I forcibly remove myself from  the throne of all time great procrastinators in order to write some nice things about them. The last time I did this was for my friend Kim Passey and I titled the post “Rip on Kim Passey” (You know since getting married is like dying hehehehehehe) Some folks, (my sister) took issue with the title thinking I was writing an actual eulogy and that person had really died. Apparently I’m the kind of person that would start a eulogy with “rip on.” I like memes, but come on I have respect for people too! At least a little.

Title rants aside I am here today to say some lovely (hopefully) things about a very good friend of mine Katie Broadhead. I feel it is very important for me to say lots of nice things now since she has made the mistake of allowing me to MC her family dinner. This means that I will me making a large number of jokes (like at least three) at her expense, so I have to say good things now in order to counter-act the “shade” I’ll be throwing her way this Saturday. (Not actually though)

Katie runs her own blog (SarcasmandSentiments) where she posts about as frequently as I do. So barely. I find this very frustrating at times since whenever she does put something up it’s incredibly entertaining to read and I feel like I learn and grow as a writer just from reading her work. One of the things she does particularly  well on this blog of hers is demonstrate how remarkably comfortable she is in her own skin. A lot of what’s written there are stories about what one might put as non-optimal decision making on her part. It’s OK though since we are all human and owning up to those experiences is just one of the things that makes her such a phenomenal human being.

Another aspect of what makes Katie such a great person is her sincerity towards others. She as far as I can tell genuinely wants to understand the people around her and makes an active effort to do so. If you present a bizarre point of view to her she won’t just outright dismiss it, not until you at least have an opportunity to explain your point of view on the matter. When she compliments another person you know without a doubt that she means it entirely, unless she drastically changes her tone then you know she’s being snarky but that much should be pretty obvious to everyone.

Katie is also one of the few people I’ve met who could match my random knowledge about television and movies. I’m not saying I’m a guru or anything, but I definitely know more than the average person and she arguably knows more than I do. (She’s got me beat on TV for the most part while I take an edge in movies in case you were wondering.) Some might view this as a bad thing, but its not like TV consumes her life so maintaining a strong knowledge about things that dominate popular culture can be a pretty useful skill set. This goes double for her since she is an education major and we all know that the way to reach the kids is through a sick reference game. I feel like this stash of knowledge and trivia is partly what makes her so darn funny, combined with her natural wit she is able to find a humorous quip to compliment any scenario.

Above all these other things though, Katie is honest, kind, funny and remarkably smart individual that I really look up to. I aspire to have writing as smooth as hers, to be as passionate about life as she is, and to not only have a sincere desire to be a better person every day, but too make good on that desire and make those improvements daily. Thank you for being the incredible friend you are and I wish you the happiest life you can imagine.

Just me at another girls night ft. Katie (Second from left.) PS I would be a dope wizard no?

Rip on Kim Passey

Alright so I probably won’t find the time to write this out next week and it obviously needs to be done before she passes on/get married/whatever you wanna call it so were just gonna get on with it today I suppose.

For those of you who don’t know when particularity close friends of mine (Somehow all female so far, come on bros! step it up) get married I have a tradition of writing a blog post about them and the importance of their friendship to me. Basically it’s meant to be a lame piece where I sing the praises of a person or something like that. Today I sing the praises of one Kim Passey.

Kim is the realest friend I’ve ever had. Not to say that anyone of my friends are fake, but more to emphasize the point that Kim is the one that has been around to have the much less fun conversations that are still very important to have. Too put it simply for several years Kim and I have had an understanding that we can call out any insane ideas/actions the other person has. This realness isn’t without some drawbacks though, there have been times where both of us have been unimaginably upset with the others actions, but that is going to happen when you get real, but friends eventually get over it and move on. Since were both young adults most of this dealt with dating. I can’t imagine the ludicrous number of headaches I must have given this poor girl over the years she desperately tried to get me to understand simple ideas like, “Just ask that girl over there out!” (Frankly I still don’t seem to understand that one, but that’s on me.) I must be even worse since most of the time when she explained these very simple things to me it would be after we had had a discussion about her dating life and I had given her advice that she would actually listen to and pertained to more complicated scenarios! Imagine this, you are back in elementary school and your friend has just helped you through a gritty long division question and not two seconds later they’re asking what two plus two is. You’d have to be in shock thinking, “Is this real? Did I actually get help from them? I need to rethink my life choices.”

This is what talking to me about dating is like and thankfully Kim was patient and kind enough to endure it. Probably because she is simply a very good listener, she might not think it but she is. Like have you ever seen one of my esports related posts and kinda just ignored it since you know you’re not gonna get a whole lot outta of it? (I’m not offended that is what nearly everyone tells me.) Yeah? Now imagine having a conversation about esports with me. Face to face. She listens to that crap and actually responds with specific inquiries, not because she cares a lot about it, but she’s a good friend and that’s what you do. Props.

Kim’s been an excellent friend to me over the years and I couldn’t be more happy for her and Max. I’m incredibly proud to call you a friend. Don’t forget that just because you are getting married that you no longer have to deal with me though, there are still a few months before I move to the states. Peace out everyone!

Kim is the Far right, sidenote I had so much swag in 2012.